“The best moments usually occur when a person’s body or mind is stretched to its limits in a voluntary effort to accomplish something difficult and worthwhile.” – Mihaly Csikszentmihalyl
Last week was humbling. I started off on Monday only looking to accomplish a shake-out swim after the OC Tri. I only wanted about 1,500 yards, but the pool was crowded, and my patience was shot, so I jumped out after only 1,000 yards. Then on Tuesday, I switched things up and went out for my 3 hour “fun” ride on my road bike, but right at the 1:00 hour mark I pulled over at the top of the hill with a flat front tire. Sweet. Oddly enough, I was not upset. I may have still been on a post-race high, but I saw the flat as an opportunity to practice my maintenance skills and bond with my bike. Therefore, I hunkered down, swapped the spare, and 45 minutes later, I was on my way again. Clearly, I need more practice. It was not a fast fix, but sufficient enough to get me rolling and able complete my work out.
Oh wait, that's not me...
I continued on through the week changing my training schedule slightly because of a dentist appointment on Thursday, but I completed the biggies, the long swim on Friday, the long run on Saturday, and the Super-Duper long everything day on Sunday. The swim was fine, the run was exceptional, but the long day on Sunday was humbling.
I ramped up the mileage across the board, 3,500 yard swim, 90 mile bike ride, and 2+ mile run. As soon as I woke up on Sunday morning I knew it was going to hurt. I was tired. Not so much physically, it was more of a heartache. Honestly, I did not want to be away from Marion and my dogs all day again. However, with only 6 weeks left until race day, every Sunday is precious, so I sucked it up, kissed them all good-bye, and walked out the door.
The day progressed smoothly, but I felt the increase in mileage and did not ever feel zippy and alert, except for when a Lexus SUV cut in front of me as I was screaming down a hill, otherwise I was locked in a haze all day. Nevertheless, I logged the miles, and 7 hours later it was time to go home.
Big day.
The upside is that not only were Marion and the dogs waiting for me, but Hannah was there, too.
Every day I wake up and choose to train. It is not a sacrifice, it is a choice. I respect the Ironman distance enough to know that all of the training I am doing is not only to compete, but to survive.
Do I believe it is worth it?
Yes.
Best feeling ever.
“Joy lies in the fight, in the attempt, in the suffering involved, not in the victory itself.”
– Mahatma Ghandi